Empathise and Define: Building a Strong Foundation in Design Thinking
The Empathise and Define stages are foundational steps in the design thinking process. Empathising allows you to understand users’ real needs, while defining ensures you’re framing the right problem. Together, these stages provide a strong basis for innovative solutions. Let’s explore the appropriate mindsets and methods for these critical phases.
Key Takeaways
- The Empathise stage provides deep user insights through empathy mapping, journey mapping, and role playing.
- Deferring judgment and being curious help reveal user needs beyond surface-level observations.
- The Define stage builds a clear problem statement through personas, POV statements, and balanced framing.
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Empathise
Empathy is at the heart of design thinking, and the Empathise stage requires understanding the human needs and challenges behind user actions.
Mindset:
To fully empathize, certain mindsets are essential:
- Curiosity: Approach user needs with a sense of wonder and eagerness to learn. Probe deeper with questions to gain new insights.
- Root Need-Seeking: Look beyond surface desires to find the deeper needs that drive user behavior.
Methods:
Various techniques can help you empathize effectively:
- Fly on the Wall:
Observing users without interference helps capture their behaviors rather than just their attitudes. - What-How-Why:
A systematic method of questioning observations to uncover what people do (what), how they act (how), and why they behave that way. - Role Playing:
Immersing yourself in the roles of stakeholders helps design thinkers understand the emotional states and interactions involved in the user journey. - Empathy Map:
Visualize what users say, do, think, and feel to draw deeper insights into their perspectives. - Pain-Gain Analysis:
Identify user pains and gains to uncover their key frustrations and desires when accomplishing tasks. - Extreme Users:
Analyzing the challenges faced by extreme users can often yield universal solutions that benefit a broader audience. - Journey Map:
Visualize the complete journey users take with your product or service to identify points of friction and opportunities for improvement. - Error Analysis:
Identify user errors to adjust designs, making them intuitive and user-friendly.
Define
The Define stage involves framing a clear, actionable problem statement to guide ideation and development.
Mindset:
Effective problem framing requires a balanced mindset:
- Balance: Avoid overly narrow or overly broad problem statements to stay flexible but focused.
- Specificity: Ensure problem statements provide sufficient detail to guide ideation.
- Focus: Concentrate on significant problems that are worth solving.
Methods:
To craft effective problem definitions:
- Buyer Persona:
A semi-fictional character representing a segment of your audience based on research. - Point of View (POV):
Frame the problem from the user’s perspective, linking the user, need, and insight. - Problem Statement Framing:
Clearly state the problem considering the user, their need, and the insight that directs toward possible solutions.
The next blog will delve into Ideate and Prototype. Discover how to brainstorm effectively and create tangible prototypes that can be tested and refined.